Archive for June, 2013

Princess Cruises is celebrating Independence Day with a “Red, White & Blue Sale” featuring cruise deals on North American departures. The June 27 to July 8 event offers cruise discounts of up to 40 percent, plus up to $100 free onboard spending money. More than 100 cruise departures are featured in the sale, including cruises to the Caribbean, Hawaii, Panama Canal, the California Coast, Mexico, Canada & New England and the West Coast. Cruises depart between September and December 2013.

In addition to special fares, passengers booking balcony staterooms or above will receive an onboard credit of $100 (for sailings 10 days or longer), $50 (seven- to nine-day cruises), or $30 (one- to six-day cruises); and those booking interior or oceanview staterooms can get credits of $50 (cruises 10 days or longer), $25 (seven- to nine-day cruises) or $15 (one- to six-day cruises).
More information about the cruise sale and pricing can be found at on Princess Cruises website.
Examples of cruise deals include:

All cruise prices are per person, based on double occupancy. The Red, White & Blue Sale begins at 12:01 a.m. PDT on June 27 and runs through 11:59 p.m. PDT on July 8, 2013 and is available to residents of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Additional information about Princess Cruises is available through a professional travel agent, by calling 1-800-PRINCESS, or by visiting the company’s website.

In a cruise industry first, ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises has launched a complimentary service that provides streaming movies and live television news broadcasts to guests’ mobile devices aboard Silver Cloud.

The service can be accessed on any Wi-Fi-enabled laptop, smartphone, tablet, or even e-book reader — anything with a browser. It includes access to an extensive library of classic and recent Academy Award-winning feature films, with more than 80 per cent of the movies offered in five languages: English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish.

“We’re delighted to be able to offer this innovative service to enhance our guests’ onboard experience,” said Fabio Agostini, Silversea’s chief information officer. “Smartphones and tablets are a necessity for today’s travelers, who rely on instant access to information. Jason Cohn, our director of infrastructure, and his valuable team worked closely with RedCell Technologies, HMS, and On-Board Movies to develop a streaming media service that would fit seamlessly with our guests’ increasingly technology-driven lifestyle.”

A limited supply of iPad minis is also available (on a first-come, first-served basis) to Silver Cloud guests wishing to borrow a tablet to view the streamed movies and television during the voyage.

By the end of 2013, the service will be rolled out to four additional ships: Silver Shadow, Silver Whisper, Silver Wind and Silver Galapagos. In the coming months, the company is also planning to add an expansive selection of international newspapers to its menu of streamed media offerings, an option currently in the testing phase.

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) today announced its plan to split the roles of chairman and chief executive officer. Micky Arison will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of the company and Arnold W. Donald, a highly experienced and respected business leader who has served on the company’s board for the past 12 years, will assume the CEO role effective July 3.
Arison became CEO in 1979. At that time the company was privately held and operated three cruise ships under one brand, generating $44 million in revenues and carrying approximately 160,000 passengers a year. By 1987, Carnival Cruise Lines had become the world’s largest cruise operator and Arison took the company public. Working in partnership with current vice chairman and COO Howard Frank, Arison led the company through an aggressive expansion that included the acquisition of several iconic cruise brands, including Holland America Line, Costa Cruises, Cunard and Seabourn. In 2003, a merger between Carnival Corporation and P&O Princess Cruises plc – comprised of Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK), P&O Cruises (Australia), and German cruise brand AIDA – was completed, creating the first global cruise operator and one of the largest leisure travel companies in the world. In addition, the company undertook an ambitious schedule of new ship introductions. Under Arison’s leadership, Carnival Corporation & plc has grown to more than 100 ships, carrying 10 million passengers a year and generating more than $15 billion in annual revenues.

In his role as chairman, Arison will continue to provide board level oversight for the company and will remain the company’s largest shareholder. Donald will lead the executive team, initially focusing on achieving the company’s long-term strategic goals while working directly with the operating brand executives. Frank will continue to serve in his current role as vice chairman and COO of the company, supporting Donald in working with the corporate level executive team. The move has received unanimous approval from the company’s nominating and governance committee as well as the full board of directors.

“I have been discussing this with the board for some time now and feel the timing is right to align our company with corporate governance best practices and turn over the reins after 34 years as CEO,” said Arison. “Arnold is an exceptional professional with extensive experience in organizational leadership who will bring a fresh perspective to the company. I have come to value and rely on his judgment and insight during the 12 years he has served on the company’s board and I am very confident in his ability to move the organization forward.” Arison added, “As chairman, I will still be working closely with Arnold to ensure a great future for all our stakeholders.”

Donald’s expansive career includes numerous global leadership roles including a large publicly traded company, private equity firms, governmental appointments and large not-for-profits as well as serving on boards of directors on companies across many business sectors. He has a strong working knowledge of the cruise business gained through 12 years serving on the Carnival board. Donald founded and led Merisant, a company whose products include tabletop sweetener brands Equal and Canderel. He also held multiple senior management roles at Monsanto over the course of 20-plus years, including president of the company’s consumer and nutrition sector and president of its agricultural sector. Additionally, Donald is former president and CEO of the Executive Leadership Council, a professional network and leadership forum for African-American executives of Fortune 500 companies. Donald has also held roles within a number of civic and charitable organizations including serving as president and CEO of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International. Donald also currently serves on the board of Bank of America Corporation. He will continue to serve on Carnival’s board of directors but will relinquish his committee roles.

“I am honored and privileged to have this opportunity to lead the next stage of growth for Carnival Corporation & plc,” said Donald. “As a board member, I have come to know Micky, Howard and the company well. I have a first-hand appreciation of what it has taken to develop this highly successful business, an understanding for the dynamics and challenges we face, and a great deal of confidence in the company’s management team and their ability to execute. I have enormous respect for Micky as a visionary in our industry, and as the builder and leader of Carnival. I have come to know many of the talented professionals who work within Carnival during my time on the board and I look forward to working with the company’s many stakeholders including our 90,000 employees, 10 million guests, thousands of travel agent partners, vendors and shareholders around the globe.”

Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise company in the world, with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK). Together, these brands operate 102 ships totaling 209,000 lower berths with seven new ships scheduled to be delivered between May 2014 and April 2016. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.

In a spectacular ceremony today in Southampton, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge named the new ship Royal Princess when she released a bottle of champagne that smashed against its hull. Standing on the naming platform with the ship’s Captain Tony Draper, The Duchess pronounced, “I name this ship Royal Princess. May God bless her and all who sail in her.” She then cut the rope that sent a giant Nebuchadnezzar-size bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne toward the ship, officially welcoming Royal Princess into the fleet of Princess Cruises, one of the world’s largest international cruise lines.

“We can think of no more fitting godmother for our magnificent new Royal Princess,” said Alan Buckelew, Princess Cruises’ president and CEO. “Her Royal Highness is an inspiring ambassador for Britain – with whom Princess Cruises shares strong ties – and she is admired around the world for her style and grace. We’re so honored she accepted our invitation to become godmother to our new ship.” The ceremony included star-studded entertainment that blended maritime tradition with contemporary elements, reflecting the innovative spirit of Princess’s newest class of ship. In addition to the exciting bottle break moment, the quayside festivities included a host of musical performances, including British pop singer Natasha Bedingfield singing her hit “Unwritten,” as well as an original song by British actress and “the first lady of London’s West End,” Kerry Ellis. Internationally renowned percussive orchestra Mass Ensemble performed with its signature “Earth Harp,” an architectural instrument with strings that extended 1,000 feet and was played as it hovered over the nearly 2,000 ceremony guests. The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Portsmouth and The Pipe Band of 1st Battalion Irish Guards opened the event with the pomp and ceremony of British ship-naming traditions. The Right Reverend Tim Dakin, Bishop of Winchester, conducted the traditional ship’s blessing.

The event capped off a week of festivities to launch the ship, including a special gala last night. Among the guests invited to the Royal Princess naming celebrations were representatives from the charities East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, SkillForce and WellChild, whose Patrons are The Duchess of Cambridge, The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry respectively.The naming of a ship is a tradition thousands of years old. Different peoples and cultures have shaped the ceremonies surrounding a ship launching but the theme has always been similar – the ritual marks the birth of a vessel, and asks for a blessing of good fortune and safety for the ship and its passengers and crew. Perhaps the most important element of the naming tradition is the godmother selected to christen a ship. In the mid-19th century it became customary for a woman of distinction to be selected for this honor. A godmother is the symbolic patron, or sponsor, of the ship through its entire life and symbolizes the spirit of the vessel. Princess Cruises has a history of illustrious godmothers for past ships, including Diana Princess of Wales (who named the first Royal Princess in 1984), Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Dame Margaret Thatcher and Olivia de Havilland. The Duchess of Cambridge now takes her place among this inspiring group of women.

The 3,600-passenger Royal Princess is a new-generation ship. Among the special features found on board is a dramatic multi-story atrium serving as the social hub of the ship offering a host of dining and entertainment options; an over-water SeaWalk, a top-deck glass-bottomed walkway extending 28 feet beyond the edge of the ship; plush private poolside cabanas that appear to be floating on water; the new Princess Live! television studio; the largest pastry shop at sea; a special Chef’s Table Lumiere, a private dining experience that surrounds diners in a curtain of light; and balconies on all outside staterooms. Following the ship’s maiden voyage to Barcelona on June 16, Royal Princess will sail on Grand Mediterranean cruises throughout the summer, followed by Eastern Caribbean cruises beginning in the autumn.

Cruise industry publication Seatrade Insider has confirmed that former president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines Bob Dickinson will return to the company as a consultant to parent company Carnival Corporation.

Dickinson, who retired in 2007 after 35 years with Carnival, returns to the line at a very challenging time in the wake of numerous incidents including the February fire onboard the Carnival Triumph. Carnival states that Dickinson will report to Carnival Corporation’s COO Howard Frank and will focus on North American marketing strategies for all Carnival Corporation brands.

ExpertCruiser spoke to several individuals involved in the cruise industry who believe Dickinson is being brought in to placate travel agents, Wall Street analysts, and the line’s investors who are not happy with the current management at Carnival Cruise Lines. “Bringing Bob back is the smartest thing they’ve done in years” one noted.

Cunard Line today announces a new commercial leadership structure, reporting into Gerard Tempest, its chief commercial officer, based in Southampton, England.

Key changes are the creation of new marketing director and insight director roles alongside the existing positions of international development director, sales & customer services director, and commercial director.

Gerard Tempest said: “This is an exciting time for Cunard Line, and this new structure has been designed to deliver the many opportunities ahead of us.”

Tempest is a member of an executive team led by CEO David Dingle, responsible for both Cunard Line and its UK-based sister company P&O Cruises, and as part of this organisational change, a similar new structure is also being created for P&O Cruises.

As a consequence, and after very careful consideration, the role of Cunard president & managing director will cease to exist, and Peter Shanks will be leaving the business at the end of September. Peter joined the business in 2002 and has held pivotal leadership roles within Cunard, Ocean Village and Princess Cruises UK. Peter has been instrumental in the growth and transformation of the Cunard business into the success that it is today, overseeing the launches of Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth.

P&O Cruises managing director Carol Marlow will also be leaving the business at the end of September. Carol joined the business in 1997 and over her 16 years with the organisation has successfully led a number of brands including Swan Hellenic, Princess Cruises UK, Cunard and P&O Cruises, Britain’s leading cruise line. Carol has directed the launch of five new ships, driving growth and building our brands around the needs of our customers, to whom she is well known.

Tempest continues, “I would like to thank both Peter and Carol for their very significant contributions to the success of the business over many years and wish them every success in their future endeavours.

“North America is a very important market for Cunard and the recent strengthening of our management team there through the appointment of Stanley Birge as vice president, reporting to David Rousham (international development director), demonstrates our deep and longstanding commitment to the North American market.”

The recruitment of the new insight director and of marketing directors for both Cunard and P&O Cruises is already at an advanced stage, and a further announcement will be made shortly.

As a result of these changes David Dingle formally assumes the titles of CEO Cunard Line and CEO P&O Cruises.